TUCKER: I still think a No. 4 seed is most likely, but say the Cats win out (Saturday against LSU and three games in the SEC Tournament), they certainly could climb to a No. 3. Can’t imagine a scenario in which UK goes any higher. Keep in mind, the resume includes losses to (per Ken Pomeroy’s advanced-stats ratings) No. 58 UCLA, No. 64 Ohio State, No. 75 LSU, No. 110 Tennessee and No. 192 Auburn. That’s more losses to sub-50 teams than wins against top-50 teams.

@JonHale_CJ@KyleTucker_CJ not exactly a UK question, but with Skal being so bad who was the last consensus top 2 recruit to be this bad?

HALE: Perhaps Tuesday’s performance at Florida, shows it is too early to completely write off Labissiere’s season, but you have to look back more than five years to find a player ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in his class by Rivals.com who experienced similar struggles as a freshman. Let’s disqualify 2014 No. 2 recruit Emmanuel Mudiay from the discussion since he never played college basketball. That means the other players who can rival Labissiere’s struggles are Josh Selby (No. 1 in 2010) and Byron Mullens (No. 1 in 2008). Selby played in only 26 games as a freshman at Kansas after the NCAA suspended him for nine games, but he averaged just 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game after returning to the court. He dropped to the second round after one year in college and is currently playing in Turkey after appearing in 38 games across two seasons for the Grizzlies. Mullens averaged 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in one season at Ohio State before being drafted No. 24 overall in the first round. He played in 189 games across six seasons in the NBA but is also currently playing in Turkey. Labissiere is now averaging 6.4 points and three rebounds per game, but is still projected as a first-round pick.

@JonHale_CJ@KyleTucker_CJ Skal was much more involved in the offense before he picked up a second foul. think that was the "tweak"?

TUCKER: Nobody would say for sure, but I don’t think Labissiere getting more involved was the tweak – maybe a part of it, though. You’re right, he was a big part of the offense to start both halves before the fouls piled up. He was picking and popping left and right, and a couple of times it led to buckets for other guys as Florida began to respect it. Labissiere took 10 shots (made five), his most attempts since Jan. 21. He’d shot it just 11 times total in the previous four games. So even if not the tweak, the 6-foot-11 guy with a sweet stroke starting to take and make more is a very positive sign for Kentucky.

@KyleTucker_CJ Says a lot. Lack of talent? Lack of conditioning? Makes sense these guys were pushed around and beaten to the edge all yr.

HALE: Despite Kentucky’s struggles on the field in the first two seasons of the Mark Stoops era, the NFL Combine was actually a great source of publicity for the program with Avery Williamson and Bud Dupree both impressing in recent years. After watching Josh Forrest and A.J. Stamps rank near the bottom of their positions in several drills this weekend, no such publicity is forthcoming. Perhaps some of Forrest’s struggles can be explained by a stomach bug, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, but both players need to post significant improvement at UK’s pro day Friday. Considering Stamps struggled for much of his senior season and even lost his starting job to a redshirt freshman for a time, it was something of a surprise to see him invited to the combine and his rankings could be somewhat expected. Forrest is another story. A converted wide receiver has to be faster in the 40-yard dash, and any NFL linebacker has to do better in the bench press. Steve Jones made note that Forrest trained away from UK in his story from the combine last week. That was not the case for the program’s top prospects in recent years. I will be interested to hear the explanation for that decision Friday.

@JonHale_CJ@KyleTucker_CJ I think the tweak is real, but I think he withheld it intentionally. I believe Cal "sandbags". Do you ?

TUCKER: Zero chance. He wants the highest seed possible for the easiest path possible in the NCAA Tournament, and there is absolutely no way he was holding back something that might’ve won the Cats a few more games sooner. Now, I do believe that the “tweak” thing is more a mental trick than a tactical change. It’s a little bit of both, I’m sure, but ultimately it seems like something he does late in a season, when maybe things didn’t go as well as planned, to reboot the players’ confidence. It has a real do-over feel for those guys when the coach comes busting through the doors of the gym and says, “Eureka! I’ve figured it out! It was all my fault, not yours! We’ll tweak this and crush everyone now!” Genius, really.

@JonHale_CJ With loss of Hatcher. Any chance UK adds another player late?

HALE: Anything is possible, but I’m not sure adding a 2016 recruit that hasn’t signed yet would be much of a boost and have been told there are no plans to do so in the wake of Hatcher’s dismissal. Seems unlikely a player still available would help the roster this fall, and do you really want to take the risk on tying up a scholarship you might need next season? Stoops has already said the 2017 class will be a smaller one as they work to satisfy the league/NCAA rules about the number of scholarships available per class. Early enrollees let schools count some of those players backward to comply with the rule, but UK is already unable to sign a full 25-man class in 2017. Now, after the spring semester if a transfer becomes available that better fits the scholarship situation? That might be a better option. By my count, UK is currently at 81 scholarships for the fall if all 18 of the remaining 2016 signees make it to campus and Stoops keeps former walk-ons Cole Mosier and J.D. Harmon on scholarship. Adding Michigan transfer Brian Cole would bring that number to 82. I would also expect walk-on wide receiver Charles Walker to receive a scholarship if one is available. That would still leave two scholarships available before reaching the 85-man limit.

TUCKER: It’s most dramatic on the road. In home SEC games, UK has been called for an average of 18.6 fouls and opponents have shot an average of 22.6 free throws. On the road in league play, the Cats are being called for 23.9 fouls and opponents are shooting 29.8 free throws per game. Why? There’s a lot of research on the psychological effects of the home crowd on officials, which makes some sense, but these numbers seem a little extreme. Florida shot 16 free throws to Kentucky’s zero in the first half Tuesday night.

@JonHale_CJ Have you heard any info on Tymere Dubose injury? Time frame for his return?

HALE: Since Joseph originally answered this question on Twitter I’ve been told Dubose will definitely not practice this spring as he recovers from an ACL injury. That’s a significant setback for a player who needs to start to make a move up the depth chart and is in danger of being passed by a couple of new additions to the roster. Rising junior Matt Elam enters the spring as the starter at nose guard in the 3-4 defense, but UK also added junior-college transfer Naquez Pringle for the spring semester. With many junior-college transfers needing a season to fully adjust to the Southeastern Conference, it may not be fair to expect Pringle to immediately seize a starting job but being on campus for spring practice should help him contribute early. Dubose’s classmate Adrian Middleton can also play at several spots along the line, and rising junior Jacob Hyde returns in his nose guard/fullback role. I think the staff is still confident Dubose can eventually help the defense, but how he bounces back from the injury will say much about his future prospects.